Kansas House committee hatches new plan for school funding

Topeka  A Kansas House committee is preparing to take up a proposal from Republican leaders to increase education spending to satisfy a state Supreme Court order.

The plan emerged late Monday after meetings among key House leaders, including Speaker Ray Merrick. The plan would increase spending by $129 million to correct deficiencies flagged by the March 7 court ruling.

The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to begin working on the bill Tuesday morning. It is not clear how long it will take before the bill can be sent to the full House for debate.

One key difference between the GOP plan and one offered Thursday is the removal of language that would have expanded the state’s charter schools law, something top GOP leaders had not included as part of their negotiations.